UPDATE: According to Renaud Lacoie of RDS, via Twitter, Carey Price received a slap shot on the upper leg Tuesday morning. He has a big bruise, but was all right Tuesday night.

• At a Glance: Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller made 31 saves for his fourth shutout of the season, a 2-0 win over the Canadiens at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night. Nathan Gerbe, the NHL’s smallest player, scored both goals. He opened the scoring 8:56 into the second period. He redirected a Tyler Myers shot past Carey Price, who narrowly missed making the save with his blocker. Gerber scored into an empty net with 22 seconds to play in the third period. Price, who appeared to injure his right leg during the morning skate, made 22 saves in a losing effort.

• What It Means: The Canadiens remain in sixth place in the Eastern Conference with 87 points and a 40-27-7 record, three points behind the Boston Bruins for first place in the Northeast Division and six points ahead of the Sabres, who are in eighth place in the conference.

• What’s Next: A much-anticipated date with the Bruins comes on Thursday night, in Boston, before the Canadiens return home to take on the Washington Capitals on Saturday night.

66 Comments

camm and gomez should have 7-10 more goals each and that would have won us the division..players who are payed huge $$$ should be the difference makers on a team and clearly this year these two have let the team down..hopefully they make up for it in the playoffs but they really costs us the division..

I agree with Gomez, however Cammy has been rattled with injuries all season so be fair to him. To note, lots of the AHL boys who have done alot for us stepping in for injuries made up for the other guys lacking points. Enough beating these boys up, we are damn lucky to be where we are today!! This team has depth and can be very dangerous, only time will tell what they got in them to win in the post season, I for one happy we are where we are!

Whatever. His goal production is atrocious and he’s been sulking all year. Cammalleri is not even going to crack 20 goals, and his forechecking and work in his own zone leaves something to be desired (why on earth does Martin use him on the PK anyways?). He should stay home and get healthy if he’s injured.

Well that wasn’t what we all wanted! But did anyone actually feel surprised we lossed tonight! Always when we come off a big win we fall short or flat the next one, oh well! The biggest of all big games is Thursday! We win that one then we still have a shot at 3rd, lose it and we will have to hold 6th and continue to chase 5th. Doesn’t look like we will have home ice advantage in round 1 though, just the way we like it. I mean when was the last time we shined when we had it? Go Habs Go!!

Fact of the matter is, no matter how much you criticize this team, Sabres played a tight game and were defensively very sound. They didn’t let the Habs get much puck possession and Habs weren’t able to do much with the puck when they had it. Miller made some timely saves and Price wasn’t able to score any goals himself, so we lost.

We are still missing many regulars, sure we won against the Lightning and Wild with this type of lineup, lets not expect them to win against a team that played such a nice tight game. Sabres were desperate for the two points and they wanted them more than our Habs did.

Sabres had more zip, plain as that. If Kostitsyn would hit more, he would be a far more effective player. When he hits he’s like a bull and quite impressive. Alex Picard should not be playing in this league at this time, same as Webber. Not ready for prime time.

Well, these guys have been with the team long before those injuries. They should have been in the AHL (at least one of them) and maybe they would be effective now. Mara is at least a proven NHL defenceman. Picard and Weber are Ahl class. I know they are stuck between a rock and a hard place with Sopel now out too, but these guys are going to leak like sieves as the playoffs approach.

Maybe people should realize that except for the return of Gill, this is basically the same lineup that played Tampa Bay last Thursday that no one expected to win ( everyone was praising the Habs for an unexpected win) ,and Buffalo is playing a lot better down the stretch than TB is by far. I know we have the most passionate fans in hochey who get extremely upset when this team loses, but we still have a lot of key day-to-day players.

I guess that is true, but if I recall, the injured players left are Markov, Gorges, Plekanec, Halpern and Sopel(forgive me if I forgot someone). Without these guys, other than Plek and Halpern to some degree, the team has found success anyway.

The injured players would immensely help us, obviously, but this team does have to find ways to win the big games.

Just re-watched the highlights and while we played well (Price was great, Gomez actually looked like he was trying) we did not make Miller’s life sufficiently miserable, he saw lots of the shots.
To do anything in the playoffs our guys are going to have to take a beating in front of the net, not just go for the pretty plays. Desharnais went to the net, and other guys are going to have to do the same.

He’s been averaging 0.88 points a game. Not bad for a guy who’s been taking a huge blame for Devil’s lack of success (at least in my opinion)

I don’t know what impact he has in the dressing room or his attitude on the ice (taking shifts, games off a la Kovalev) but he seems to have a good half season. Let’s hope our Gomez does the same and shows everyone why we traded big for him.

I saw Kovalchuk play live under Maclean, and they had no plays that utilised him. He looked like a big dog that wanted you to throw him the stick. I didn’t get any “coasting” energy from him at all. I think Lemaire is no dope and is making much better use of him. As for the dressing room I of course don’t know, but they have been playing great, maybe running out of gas a bit the last few games.

Lost opportunity to keep pace with Boston. Thursday’s game will be huge and could possibly decide if NE Division is within reach. Valiant effort but the boys simply didn’t have it tonight. Key now is getting healthy and not slipping in the standings.

More than that, Habs are heading to 7th or 8th place which means Washington or Philadelphia in the first round which means one and out. BTW – not only do Habs still have injuries and Boston hates them, but Boston is not only 3 points up but also have 2 games in hand.

Leafs are about done though Grabovski scored his 27th tonight, Sabres only 6 points behind Habs and have a game in hand and Habs have to play Boston and Washington the next 2 games. Sabres can also pass Habs along with Rangers.

JM would have to be strongly considered for the Jack Adams Award if
the club where to win the NE Division given all their injuries and the
patchwork lineup JM has had to put together. That is coaching.

whether the laffs finish 10th or 8th is going to make little difference to the Bruins pick, especially in a weak draft like this year. After the first 5 picks, it’s like one big 2nd round anyway. I just can’t stand the Leafs or their fans

There once were some Buffaler savvy;
Won a bit but not more’n halvie.
“By the beard of Potyomkin!”
Cried Andrei Kostitsyn
“Strobotkyef gabrinka do, pravi!”
(“They will surely eat my shorts, those pox-ridden buffalers!”) – translated from Belarussian.

Well, as I posted on “Whew” … Tonight is the beginning of the Habs playoff push / run.

Sabres are a force with the hunger they have to remain in 8th, and with Ennis on a mini fire … will be a tough night. But the week only begins tonight – and there is a ton of tough hockey to be played over the next 3 weeks.

9 tough games … Check out my thoughts on the week here http://wp.me/p1n6pU-19 and leave your thoughts and comments.

what is up with wives and chick flicks? mine wishes to see the King’s Reach also.

I recently sat through Black Swan, which was like watching Scott Gomez play hockey, I kept feeling in my pocket for a razor blade so I could cut my eyes out. And Vicki Crispy Barcalounger, after 15 minutes I said “Enough! Send Woody Allen to the minors.” Actually, Mia Farrow tried that and it kind of back fired…

What the hell were we talking about, anyway? Oh yeah, the H*bs 🙂

** addendum, Natalie Portman IS brilliant and deserves her awards, certainly, great performance. I just thought Cassels was wasted and the whole was over-wrought and hystrionic. Of course so was Aliens…